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Finger-Lickin’ Oven-Fried Chicken

Marinate skinless chicken pieces in buttermilk and coat with a seasoned flour mixture, then spray with canola cooking spray, and bake in the oven, followed with a quick turn under the broiler. This chicken is great cold, too!

Ingredients:

• 1 whole chicken, cut into pieces
• 1 cup low-fat buttermilk
• 1 cup unbleached white flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle pepper (cayenne red pepper can be substituted — increase to 1 teaspoon if extra ‘heat’ is desired)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• Canola cooking spray

Preparation:

1. Remove skin from chicken pieces and discard. Combine chicken pieces and buttermilk in a gallon-sized zip-top bag. Refrigerate sealed bag in a medium-size bowl for several hours or overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 450°F. Add flour, chipotle pepper, cumin, salt, and white pepper to a new gallon-sized, zip-top bag or medium-size shallow bowl. Stir with fork to blend ingredients well.

3. Remove a piece of chicken from buttermilk and gently shake off excess buttermilk. Immediately dip chicken into flour mixture; coat well. Holding chicken piece over a plate, spray top and bottom well with canola cooking spray. Dip chicken piece into flour mixture a second time and spray again with canola cooking spray. Place chicken bone-side down onto a cookie sheet.

4. Repeat with remaining pieces of chicken.

5. Bake until chicken is cooked throughout and coating is golden brown (about 25-30 minutes). Switch the oven to broil, and broil the chicken 6 inches from the heat for a minute or two (until outside of chicken is nicely browned), watching very carefully so as not to burn.

Yield:

4 servings

Nutritional Information:

Per serving: 261 calories, 32 g protein, 13 g carbohydrate, 8 g fat (2 g saturated fat, 3.2 g monounsaturated fat, 1.9 g polyunsaturated fat), 92 mg cholesterol, 0.5 g fiber, 365 mg sodium, 2 mg iron, 35 mg calcium.

Restaurant-Style Marinated Sirloin Steaks

Here’s a marinade that adds flavor and tenderness to lean top sirloin.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup light soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup very finely chopped onion (add coarsely chopped onion to small food processor, if you have one, and pulse until almost pureed)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt (optional)
• Pinch of cayenne red pepper
• 4 or 5 top sirloin individual steaks (about 5 ounces each), trimmed of visible fat

Preparation:

1. In an 8-cup measure, whisk together balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, honey, olive oil, pepper, Worcestershire, onion, salt (if desired), and cayenne.

2. Place steaks in a shallow glass dish and cover with the marinade. Turn to coat both sides well. Cover and marinate in refrigerator for up to two days.

3. Preheat grill to medium-high heat. Lightly coat the grill grate with canola cooking spray or oil. Add steaks and grill 5-7 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the steak and the desired doneness. Throw away any leftover marinade (because it has raw meat juices in it).

Yield:

4-5 servings

Nutritional Information:

Per serving (if 5 servings per recipe; assuming half of the marinade is absorbed into the steak): 245 calories, 32 g protein, 7.5 g carbohydrate, 9 g fat (2.8 g saturated fat), 87 mg cholesterol, 0.2 g fiber, 273 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 34%.

Chicken Pesto Pizza

We love to make this pizza!

Ingredients:

* 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
* 1 cup warm water (110° to 115°)
* 2-3/4 cups bread flour
* 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 1-1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
* 1/2 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
* 1 small onion, halved and thinly sliced
* 1/2 each small green, sweet red and yellow peppers, julienned
* 1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
* 3 tablespoons prepared pesto
* 1-1/2 cups (6 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Preparation:

In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Beat in the flour, 1 tablespoon oil, sugar and 1 teaspoon salt. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a bowl coated with cooking spray, turning once to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook the chicken, onion, peppers and mushrooms in remaining oil until chicken is no longer pink and vegetables are tender. Remove from the heat; set aside. Punch dough down; roll into a 15-in. circle. Transfer to a 14-in. pizza pan. Build up edges slightly. Spread with pesto. Top with chicken mixture and cheese. Sprinkle with pepper and remaining salt. Bake at 400° for 18-20 minutes or until crust and cheese are lightly browned.

Yield: 8 slices.

Nutritional Facts:

One serving: 1 slice, Calories 293, Fat 10g, Saturated Fat 3g, Cholesterol 30mg, Sodium 601mg, Carbohydrate 35g, Fiber 2g, Protein 18g

Dessert Recipes

Oatmeal-Chocolate Chunk Cookies

These cookies have just enough Chocolate to satisfy your sweet tooth but with less sugar and fat. These cookies also pack a punch of fiber, thanks to the oats and whole wheat flour.

Ingredients:

• 5 tablespoons no-trans fat margarine (with around 8 grams of fat per tablespoon)
• 3 tablespoons light or fat-free cream cheese
• 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/3 cup Splenda®
• 1/4 cup egg substitute (1 large egg can be substituted)
• 6 tablespoons whole wheat flour (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
• 6 tablespoons white flour (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped Hershey’s® Sugar Free Dark Chocolate Candy (mini bars) or Chocolate Candy (mini bars)
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat cookie sheets with canola cooking spray.

2. In mixing bowl, cream together no-trans margarine, cream cheese, brown sugar, and Splenda®. Add egg substitute or egg and beat well.

3. Add flours, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and vanilla to butter mixture and beat until well blended. Stir in sugar-free Chocolate chunks and oats. Blend thoroughly.

4. Drop rounded teaspoons of dough onto cookie sheet (about 15 cookies per cookie sheet). Bake in center of oven for about 6 minutes or until cookies are still soft but lightly browned. Remove cookies and let cool on wire rack.

5. About 15 mini bars cut into 1/2-inch chunks with a knife.

Yield:

30 cookies

Nutritional Information:

Per cookie: 60 calories, 1.5 g protein, 7 g carbohydrate, 2.8 g fat (1.2 g saturated fat, 1 g monounsaturated fat, 0.5 g polyunsaturated fat), 1.5 mg cholesterol, 1 g fiber, 83 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 42%.

Cranberry Apple Crisp

Ingredients:

• 5 cups pared, sliced tart apples (about 6 medium apples)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup butter

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. Lightly grease a 9-inch square baking pan.

3. Layer apples and cranberries in pan sprinkling with sugar as you layer.

4. Topping: Mix flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

5. Work in butter until light and crumbly.

6. Sprinkle topping evenly over apples and cranberries.

7. Bake 45 minutes or until apples are tender.

Yield:

9 servings

Nutritional Information:

Per serving: Calories 210, protein 1g, fat 6 g, calories from fat 25%, carbohydrates 39 g, cholesterol 15 mg, fiber 3 g, sodium 64 mg.